Zhu Xiongying and Gu Chen were also old acquaintances. They knew that this man had won the Jinshi at a young age and was a person valued by his grandfather and father.
To sum up, this is a talented person, so I didn’t find it annoying when he asked me about my studies, and I answered him seriously.
"Today, Mr. Lian told us about Shangshu. He used the trustworthy and clear meanings in it, advocating virtue and repaying merit, and ruling the world through arches, which led to Wei Zheng's "Ten Thoughts on Admonishing Taizong" and the historical situation of the Song Dynasty."
"The teacher said that a king should have these ten thoughts, carry forward the nine virtues, and then select and appoint talented people, then he can manage the country well without any effort."
"Well, I also gave an example. Song Renzong of the Song Dynasty governed the country in this way. All of Song Renzong's ministers were famous, but he himself was unknown."
"Even when he is mentioned, most of them talk about the civet cat replacing the prince. However, the world ruled by Song Renzong was indeed the most prosperous time of the Song Dynasty."
"It can be seen from this that governing from the top is what a wise monarch should do."
Zhu Biao nodded slightly as he listened. In the past four hundred years of the Song Dynasty, apart from the founding emperor Zhao Kuangyin, Song Renzong was the only emperor who could catch his eye.
However, a wise monarch is a wise king who governs from the top down. Does this mean that his father is not wise?
Gu Chen smiled slightly: "Your Highness, King Wu, do you think Mr. Lian is right?"
Zhu Xiongying looked at him in confusion: "I don't understand what Mr. Gu means. Since it is a lecture given by Mr. Gu, and it is also said by previous sages, can this be wrong?"
Seeing both father and son looking at him, Gu Chen reluctantly expressed some opinions of his own.
"The original intention of governing by hanging from the top is to select talents. It does not mean that the monarch should govern people but not affairs. Instead, the monarch can choose to govern the country with virtuous people, or he can choose to do everything himself."
"But later on, it turned into opposition to the monarch's governance of specific matters, and the monarch's power was dispersed one by one by the civil service class."
"The emperors of the Song Dynasty delegated decision-making power to the prime minister. Therefore, the prime minister had great power during the Song Dynasty, even greater than the imperial power."
"Song Shenzong was considered a hard-working emperor, but the famous minister Fu Bi ran to warn Song Shenzong: "Nowadays, there are many personal approvals for government affairs. If everything is right, it is not the way to be a king." "
"Why does His Highness King Wu think this is?"
The emperor is a hard-working minister who should be happy. Why are you obstructing him in every possible way? Are you planning to enshrine the emperor as a Bodhisattva to be admired in the temple?
Zhu Xiongying thought for a while before looking tentatively at Gu Chen.
"Could it be that he did it deliberately in order to compete for the power in the emperor's hands?"
If you think about it carefully, that's really what happened, when Song Renzong was the emperor.
No matter how big or small the matter is, let the court ministers discuss it. You can't make your own decision, otherwise you will be scolded, and you don't dare to reprimand too much.
If the emperor talks too much, people will hit the wall and remonstrate to death. If he really hits someone to death, the word "faint king" will be firmly imprinted on the king's face.
"It can also be said that he is a virtual king." Gu Chen said these two words calmly and gave an example: "Everyone said at that time that Song Renzong was not good at everything, but he could be an official."
"At that time, the king's inability to do everything was actually a compliment, but also a constraint. Because of these constraints and praise, the king did not dare to go against the ministers at all."
"And the Confucian sayings of "doing nothing", "duangong", "hanging down the arch to rule", "hanging down the clothes and the world is governed", "honoring oneself due to the south", "not getting down from the table but the world is governing", etc. all have the meaning of a false king. mean."
"In the Song Dynasty, the literati reached a consensus on the matter of Xujun. That is why Wang Anshi's reform ended without any problems."
The emperor did not dare to stand up to the conservative party. How could Wang Anshi and others confront the powerful and prosperous vested interests?
Not to mention the subsequent emperors, only Song Zhezong did not listen to the nonsense of the conservatives and forcefully restored the new law and regained the lost territory.
But just when everything was prosperous, the young emperor, who was only twenty-five years old, died.
Therefore, in the Song Dynasty, only emperors who were indifferent and obedient could live long.
Not to mention that the officials of the Song Dynasty had an easy life. They all took away the rights of the monarch. It's really a shame that life is not easy.
This is actually the fundamental reason why Zhu Yuanzhang wanted to abolish the prime minister.
He was an emperor who fought on the battlefield, and he did not want to be the aggrieved emperor of the Song Dynasty.
"Master Gu, are you not a Confucian?" It was the first time Zhu Xiongying saw someone criticizing what he had learned, and he couldn't help but asked curiously: "Aren't you also a scholar?"
Since the literati all miss Mr. Xu, why don’t you miss Mr. Gu?
"I studied Confucianism, but I don't believe in it." Gu Chen straightened his sleeves and said meaningfully: "I am a civil servant, not a scholar."
Although it is correct to overthrow the feudal imperial power, it depends on the era.
At this time, the official class was greater than the imperial power, which was the beginning of disaster for the country.
Historically, the emperors of the Ming Dynasty were somewhat stronger than those of the Song Dynasty.
However, since the Tumubao Incident, most of the power has still been in the hands of civilian officials.
Moreover, history has proved that relying on the civilian class cannot govern the country well.
The Manchu Qing Dynasty was not used to these literati. For example, Kangxi said that all affairs in the world should be handled by him alone, without any alternative, and would never give power to others.
His workaholic son Yongzheng also criticized the idea that officials ruled from the top, and that all power such as soldiers and food were in his hands.
That’s why the policies of sharing the land with the land can be so successful.
When he arrived at Qian Xiaosi's place, he was even more direct and forceful, saying that the arbitrary power of the emperor was his family's ancestral law and no one could have any objection.
Of course, he didn't mean that the Manchu Qing's overbearing approach was right.
He just wants Xiao Xiongying to realize that Confucianism is not necessarily right.
You still need to have the ability to distinguish right from wrong, and don't be like Zhu Yunwen, who was harmed and tortured by civil servants, and will be restrained and ostracized by civil servants in the future.
"Don't believe in Confucianism?" Zhu Xiongying said with a smile: "Then why do you study Confucianism?"
Indeed, other civil servants talked about Confucius and Mencius all day long, but he had never heard Master Gu say anything about saints.
"To be an official, to eat the royal food." Gu Chen admitted honestly, and said: "If the imperial examination is based on Legalism and Mohism, then what I study is Legalism and Mohism."
He's just a guy making a living, not a believer or not.
"Guang Xi." Zhu Biao raised his hand gently to stop Gu Chen from continuing: "What are you telling your children about? It's your fault if it spreads."
If such words that go against Confucianism spread, Guang Xi will definitely be attacked by a group of people.
"Dad, I won't tell anyone else."
Zhu Xiongying listened with interest, and pulled Gu Chen to continue asking.
"But wouldn't it be too hard for the king to do everything himself? Look at my father... my imperial grandfather has had a hard time. Is there a way to relax without losing the imperial power?"
Of course there is.
But Gu Chen refused to say anything. He wished that Lao Zhu would die of exhaustion in front of the case tomorrow. How could it be possible to lighten his burden at this time?
I have lived to such an old age even though I am tired every day. If I were not tired, it would be okay.
"This minister can't remember it for the moment, so I can't help His Highness King Wu to clear up his doubts."
